Hawks Attack Neighborhood Cats

There are many reasons why you should keep your cats indoors but the one that most people overlook is keeping your cat indoors due to hawks flying low.

"Red-tailed hawks and great horned owls are two of North America's most common and widespread raptors. Red-tailed hawks mainly eat small mammals like rodents and rabbits, plus birds and snakes, and aren't considered a threat to most pets. That said, some larger red-tailed hawks may be able to carry prey weighing 5 pounds (2 kg), according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which could include not just puppies and kittens, but also some adult cats and dogs from small breeds. “ Quote from https://www.treehugger.com/how-much-weight-can-hawk-carry-4868712  

All about birds states that Most dogs (and cats) are large enough to be safe from hawks and owls. Even very small dogs may be too heavy for a hawk or owl to carry, although it’s still possible that large raptors might attack them. For instance, black-tailed jackrabbits can reach the weight of a small dog (6 pounds) and are a fairly common prey item for Red-tailed Hawks in the western United States.  Birds of the World. 

If you reside close to a wooded area, or state park then chances there are hawks that are foraging.  Spring is the worst time of the year due to the feeding of their young.  

Today I received a text that was an alert of the hawks flying low to the ground. An adult red-tailed hawk will swoop down and grab your cat with its talons, or the hawk will land in your yard and kill your cat by strangulation or they will fly high enough to drop your cat, then retrieve the prey.  We have observed this firsthand a 4-pound feral cat was grabbed by the hawk air-lifted before being dropped. The cat survived. (we knew the weight of the cat from TNR records) 

Know that in the wild the prey is uncertain and even though small cats and dogs are not a hawk's diet that isn't a reason to dismiss that the cat could be an occasional food source for the hawk.  Both hawks and cats come in different sizes/weights so it comes down to size and opportunity.

 

We always know when the hawks are flying low to the ground because the squirrels and feral cats are hiding, but the domesticated cat may approach the hawk that is on the ground to investigate. The hawk has the advantage please keep your cats indoors when hawks are flying low in your neighborhood.